Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

... and now it's Christmas. We shall be closed until Monday 14th January.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year!

I leave you with a bit of Winter wonderland from my trip to Spitzbergen in 2011

One Bigg Magical Party

We were thrilled to take part in the wonderful One Bigg Magical Party at Kensington Roof Gardens yesterday, which was a fantastic event that wowed families with its imagination and creativity! The space was transformed into a magical wonderland with the Mad Hater, Alice and the Queen of Hearts, and a host of magicians, beautiful fairies and enchanting creatures. The Roof Gardens on Kensington High Street provided a breath-taking setting, with its resident family of flamingos and spectacular views across the city. We were amazed by the brilliant children's entertainers who took part in the event, especially Toadstool Parties who created a perfect enchanted fairy themed-display (we wanted to drink the magic potions and have own our glitter tattoo). We also loved the incredible balloon artists, creative sandwich art (I wish all my lunches were in the shape of an octopus!), and Spanish and Latin dance classes for little people.

Tom and I had a wonderful time at the event and enjoyed meeting lots of families, showcasing Helen's work as a children's and family photographer working in Kensington, Chelsea and across London, and also as a photographer of children's birthday parties. We're hoping to take part in another One Bigg Party event very soon, and will let you know the details via the blog.

Kate, Studio Manager

Helen Bartlett Photography at the One Bigg Magical Party

We're really excited to be taking part in the One Bigg Magical Party on Monday 7th May, which is an event guaranteed to entertain your family on what might be a wet bank holiday! It's taking place at the beautiful Roof Gardens on Kensington High Street and the playbill for the day looks really exciting - magicians, fairies, wizards, elves and other enchanting and whimsical creatures will create a day filled with educational fun. The event is designed for 2-10 year olds and their lucky grown-ups, but older and younger children are also welcome and all the information is on the One Bigg Magical Party website here.

We took part in the halloween-themed One Bigg Spooky Party back in October (see our blog post for some pictures from the day), and we had the most fabulous time catching-up with clients who were enjoying the day and also meeting new families. We can't wait to see what entertainment awaits on Monday, and hope to see you there!

MYVISION workshop in Guernsey

And now for something completely different... (yes, I am a Monty Python fan!)

This week sees a change from visiting families to capture portrait photographs, as I shall be participating in the amazing MYVISION workshop in Guernsey.

This is the third year that the workshop has taken place and I'm thrilled that it will be my third year taking part, as it is one of the most amazing photographic experiences that I have ever had.

The premise of the workshop is a group of dedicated professional photographers (both wedding and portrait photographers) pushing themselves to take the very best imagery, to push the boundaries of both their art and their technical skills, to learn enormous amounts and to support each other so that together we can take the industry to new heights of excellence. It is a documentary photography workshop so nothing is posed, and we have to work hard - outside of our comfort zones - to produce the very best imagery we can.

Before we arrive, we do not know what will await us - apart from the usual lack of sleep, long days, hard work, laughter, tears and a sense of camaraderie second to none. We only discover on Monday morning what we shall be photographing for the next two days, and Kate will update our new Facebook page with the details of my assignment.

Wherever I am assigned, I shall be photographing in Guernsey for two days and who knows what the project will be - last year, I was at a butchers and the year before, a piercing parlour! In previous years, other participants have been to assigned such diverse places as an animal sanctuary, an all night-bakers, the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry and a student bus.

You can also follow the workshop through the MYVISION Facebook page and also the Twitter feed, @MyVisionWkshop.

Wish me luck.... I will post some photos when I return.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

We are now back and open for business. Kate and I have had a wonderful break and we are raring to go with lots of exciting plans for 2012. We can't wait to see lots of our regular clients and to meet many new ones. I have my first shoot of the New Year on Wednesday and I can't wait. It's going to be a great year...